10 September 2004
The Local Government Association has pledged that poor or weak performing councils will be a thing of the past by 2007 as part of a bold bargaining agenda to extract more freedoms from Whitehall.
In a manifesto designed to influence the political parties as they gear up for the general election, the LGA this week outlined an 'action plan' to devolve power to communities and resolve thorny issues such as council tax reform.
The 14-point plan sets a number of challenges for councils but poses just as many for central government. It warns that there is no 'pick and mix' agenda for ministers: it's an all or nothing package. One of the most challenging points is undoubtedly the association's pledge that no authority will be rated poor or weak by 2007.
In the most recent Comprehensive Performance Assessments, 28 councils were in these categories, including perennial poor performers the London boroughs of Hackney and Lambeth.
The LGA executive was due to discuss its next steps as Public Finance went to press, but reforming these authorities will largely be based around peer improvement. 'Local government has a proven track record of improvement,' Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart, the LGA chair, told PF. 'There is a large budget for this agenda. We need to swing this into core programmes that deliver improvements.'
Bruce-Lockhart said these reforms should coincide with central government devolving more powers and a 'bonfire of the quangos' to 'rebalance' the role of authorities.
The association is challenging the government to honour its commitment to grant more freedoms, promised in 2001, to reduce red tape and ring-fencing while giving a commitment to reform council tax.
These, the LGA said, could be done 'at a stroke'.
It also wants Whitehall to set a small number of national targets, leaving councils to set all other policy priorities locally.
Bruce-Lockhart said the LGA would continue a dialogue with all the political parties but was aiming to set out three to four issues for inclusion in political manifestos by Christmas.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister said the LGA manifesto was 'helpful'.
A statement said: 'The LGA's manifesto is a helpful contribution to the debate on the Ten-year vision for local government that we launched in July. We look forward to working in partnership with the LGA over the coming months to take this important agenda forward.'
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